Ethos and environment
A school’s ethos and environment should support the whole school community to feel safe, valued and included.
The school's ethos and environment are not just about its physical space and values but also focuses on fighting mental health stigma, discrimination and bullying, including gender-based violence. It ensures that both students and staff feel truly included.
Thriving: Helping children to thrive through their ethos and environment
- Recognise at any one time, 80% of pupils are thriving. So, take a positive approach to wellbeing. This includes using strengths-focused language.
- Whole school approach work involving changes to the school climate are likely to be more successful than brief class-based mental illness prevention Wells et al. (2003).
- Recognise mental health and physical health as equally important to a pupil’s ability to thrive and achieve their potential. Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition (2023).
- Ensure that policies are aligned. For example, work on MHEW aligns with policies on behaviour, attendance, and bullying. Ensure that these policies are implemented in the everyday life of the school. Described by Cocking et al. (2020) as “walking the talk”.
- Ensure that all pupils, regardless of their current levels of mental health are able to participate in school life and all its opportunities.
- Allow open and honest conversations around mental health, and practise open curiosity around thoughts and feelings.
- Follow the DfE guidelines around mental health and school attendance. Mental health issues affecting a pupil's attendance: guidance for schools - GOV.UK.
- Recognise that different communities have different beliefs about mental health and wellbeing, but that this should not be a barrier to addressing stigma.
- Create environments where pupils, staff and parents who have additional needs (including neurodivergent needs) are able to thrive.
- Demonstrate a clear commitment to tackling peer-on-peer abuse and bullying, following the guidelines as laid out by the West Sussex Safeguarding Children Partnership.
- Demonstrate a clear commitment to anti-racism, supported by the Promoting Equality and Tackling Racism Guidance for West Sussex Schools.
- Create a sense of belonging for all pupils, from all backgrounds, regardless of race, gender, disability, faith, or sexual orientation.
- Understand that all behaviour is communication and embed a relational approach to behaviour. Therapeutic Thinking training is available.
Developing your ethos and environment to help pupils to thrive
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- The Rainbow Flag Award is a national quality assurance framework for primary schools, secondary schools, SEND schools and colleges. The award focuses on positive LGBT+, (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, plus other related identities), inclusion and visibility.
- For young people who aren't feeling themselves there is a toolkit designed by autistic young people to help other young people outline what their 'normal' is so they can explain to those who support them. It's called the 'Know your normal' toolkit and can be found on the Ambitious About Autism website.
- Whole school approach resources can be found on the Anna Freud Mentally Healthy Schools Hub.
- Advisory teams working with school staff to support pupils with social communication and autism can learn more via the Services for Schools website.
- The 'Boing Boing Interactive Resilience Framework' includes suggested activities to increase pupils' sense of belonging in school.
- A guide on mental health and behaviour has been published by the Department for Education.
- Structured around the Equality Act and written collaboratively, Diverse Educators: A Manifesto aims to capture the collective voice of the teaching community and to showcase the diverse lived experiences of educators.
- Curriculum support and advice about creating safe learning spaces in schools, including a dedicated mini-site about violence against women and girls (VAWG) can be found on the Education for Safeguarding (E4S) website.
- Advisory teams working with school staff and pupils from ethnic minority and traveller backgrounds may benefit from looking at the Ethnic Minority and Traveller Achievement Service (EMTAS) webpage.
- The Intensive Planning Team works with identified children and young people with SEND who are at high risk of their education placement breaking down or at risk of needing an independent, residential school, away from their families and community.
- Advisory teams working with school staff to support pupils with learning and behaviour needs, including ADHD and dyslexia may find the Learning and Behaviour Advisory Team (LBAT) webpage.
- The Safeguarding in Education in West Sussex webpage has a number of links to useful resources.
- The Autism and Social Communication Team have a very useful sensory toolkit at the bottom of their webpage.
- Details of support available to support pupils with Tourette Syndrome can be found via Tourette's Action.
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- Allsorts Youth Project are a local Sussex-based service supporting LGBT+ children and young people. They offer The Rainbow Flag Award which is a national quality assurance framework for primary schools, secondary schools, SEND schools and colleges.
- The Ambitious About Autism website has developed a toolkit which provides autistic young people with a framework to recognise what their 'normal' is, so they can explain to those who support them.
- The Anna Freud Mentally Healthy Schools Hub provides comprehensive whole school approach resources.
- The Autism and Social Communication Team have a very useful sensory toolkit at the bottom of their website.
- The 'Boing Boing Interactive Resilience Framework' includes suggested activities to increase pupils' sense of belonging in school.
- Department for Education has published a guide to mental health and behaviour.
- Diverse Educators: A Manifesto is structured around the Equality Act and aims to capture the collective voice of the teaching community and to showcase the diverse lived experiences of educators.
- Education for Safeguarding (E4S) website provides support and advice about creating safe learning spaces in schools, including a dedicated mini-site about violence against women and girls (VAWG).
- Ethnic Minority and Traveller Achievement Service (EMTAS has advice around working with school staff and pupils from ethnic minority and traveller backgrounds.
- The Intensive Planning Team works with identified children and young people with SEND who are at high risk of their education placement breaking down or at risk of needing an independent, residential school, away from their families and community.
- Learning and Behaviour Advisory Team (LBAT) work with school staff to support pupils with learning and behaviour needs, including ADHD and dyslexia.
- The Safeguarding in Education in West Sussex webpage has a number of links to useful resources.
- Tourette's Action offer advice about how to support pupils with Tourette Syndrome.
Reading and resources - creating a sense of belonging
Reading and resources - behaviour and mental health
Reading and resources - creating a neurodivergent inclusive setting
- An atypical awareness of ADHD – video presentation from the East Sussex iSend conference 2022
- Enabling neurodivergent pupils to thrive – resources by Pooky Knightsmith
- Neurodiversity in the classroom: strength-based strategies to help students with special needs succeed in life
- Rewriting the narrative – video by Dr Ruth Moyse
- Untypical – How the world is not built for autistic people and what we should all do about it: Peter Wharmby